Tiredness seems to be the modern epidemic. Whether that is from stress, lack of sleep, a poor diet or hormonal fluctuations that keep you awake and anxious. If you know you are tired, but not sure why, have a look at the most common reasons that can affect our energy levels.

1. Hormone imbalance can lead to fatigue because it brings a host of bodily changes and, if linked to oestrogen dominance and the extra weight that may involve, then carrying those additional pounds means more effort, which means ,ore fatigue.

2. Overdoing the caffeine. A cup of coffee can perk you up, as can a piece of chocolate, or a can of cola, but if you have too much of it you will affect the brain receptors for adenosine, and it will produce an excess.

That matters because it is one of the molecules responsible for making you feel tired so you can respond by trying to boost your energy with more caffeine, a self defeating cycle.

3. Too much sugar is often linked to too much caffeine and that means you get a rapid spike in blood sugar, followed by an equally rapid drop. So again you try to boost your energy by having more sugar.

Unfortunately having sugar triggers cravings for more of it and that can increase your risk for diabetes, which is also linked to fatigue.

4. A diet with too many refined carbohydrates again supplies your body with a quick burst of sugar. White bread, rice, pastas, and cereals are the main culprits and as most of their nutrients have been processed out of them you get the same sugar spike and drop as with sugar itself.

5. Iron deficiency is very common in women and can lead to anaemia. One of the most frequently seen symptoms of which is fatigue as well as insomnia, and low energy.

Increase your intake from dark leafy vegetables, beans, fish, and poultry and as vitamin C helps your body to absorb iron more efficiently get enough of that too from citrus fruit, red and yellow peppers, tomatoes, and leafy greens.

6. Missing magnesium means you are making your heart work harder at physical tasks as one of its functions is to break down glucose for energy.

You can get magnesium from almonds, bananas, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and halibut.

7. Low melatonin intake will affect your sleep as that is the hormone related to our ability to drop off easily. If you don’t have enough of it you can also get more sleep disturbances and insomnia itself.

Natural sources include tart cherry juice, dairy, and lean protein.

8. Dehydration is one of the most overlooked sources of fatigue as virtually everything in your body needs water to function.

It affects our metabolism and drinking too little can result in tiredness so drink plenty of water throughout the day.

9. Adrenal fatigue is often referred to as a common reason women in particular suffer from tiredness. One reason is that, as mentioned above, we turn to stimulants such as caffeine, sugar and processed white flour goods to keep us going.

These in turn increase our fatigue and over time as the adrenal glands pump out ever increasing amounts of cortisol – see stress below.

10. Stress is something we have become accustomed to, but its effects are far reaching. Our physical and emotional well-being are impacted, as is our hormone balance.

When stressed we are producing very high levels of the hormone cortisol from the adrenal glands. This is our ‘fight or flight’ response, but if carried on over time it does not disperse and we become literally worn out.